Chairman, Great Britain China Centre
Member of the Executive Committee and Board, China Britain Business
Council
Beijing Representative of the City of London.
Chairman, Vermillion Partners, Beijing

“Neil has strong experience of advising a range of British companies
on China. He and his team brought a clear commercial focus to UK Government
policy developments. In addition, Neil played the lead role in progressing
joint working by Government and Industry in priority sectors, together
with extensive lobbying, managing many Ministerial visits and challenging
key trade barriers.”

“Our
work together covered commercial interests specific to BP but also broader
issues concerning British business in China and the work of the British
Chamber during my Chairmanship.

I always found our collaboration fruitful. Neil has an in-depth grasp
of international business, particularly trade and investment. This includes
good insights into the varying operating environments in China, as well
as a number of other emerging markets. Personally he is engaging and
able to be both a good team player and strong leader. Most important
for me he was always results oriented.

In our work together I have observed that he has good experience in
many areas, including market assessment, entry strategy, problem solving,
and working with other cultures. Additionally he has demonstrated a
very clear understanding of the needs of both large and small companies.”

Guy
Dru-Drury

Director – China, Confederation of British
Industry

“We have built an excellent working relationship with Neil and
his team in China. He has invaluable insights and unrivalled experience
of the inter-relationship between business and government here in China,
not to mention his own personal background pre-UKTI as Commercial Director
with a variety of top FMCG branded corporations in developing markets
such as Central & Eastern Europe.”

“I had the great pleasure of working closely with Neil Blakeman
over several years, while he served as Director of UK Trade & Investment
(UKTI) at the British Embassy in Beijing. Neil's consistently positive
and proactive attitude was highly effective in dealing with the complex
challenges his role presented. His blend of private and public
sector experience enabled him to bring real depth of understanding to
business issues, and to address those issues within a government context.
Furthermore, his clear thinking, strategic vision and managerial expertise
were much in evidence as he successfully restructured and expanded the
UKTI team in China.”